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Red Wine Cranberry Braised Short Ribs. Slow cooked short ribs in red wine with fresh herbs and sweet cranberries. If there’s one cozy holiday meal you need to be making, it’s these braised short ribs. They’re a one pot and done kind of dinner, festive, and totally delicious. Serve these over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and you’ll have the perfect dinner for a cold night in.
I’ve been waiting for Thanksgiving week to be here for so long. This is always such a fun week with so much excitement in the air. I’ve never put a ton of pressure on myself to make Thanksgiving perfect. I think this is why I am able to look forward to it so much. All of my brothers are in town (well one arrives tomorrow). I’m excited to spend some time with them, take a minute to soak everything in, and be thankful for all this year has had to offer. It’s been a big year of growth here at HBH, and I’m so thankful to be doing what I love each and every day.
It’s been go, go, go for months now, so I haven’t really had the chance to organize the studio and make it just right. Plus, we’re still waiting on furniture for the upstairs loft and office. Regardless, on Saturday afternoon I finally decided to put down my computer and spend a couple of hours organizing and tidying up around the studio to prepare for Thanksgiving. It was fun to spend a little time styling out the space. Thanksgiving will be our first “big dinner” here, so I’m getting excited! I may or may not have already set my tables.
Anyway, with all of my family in town, that means I need easy meals that everyone will love.
Enter these tangy red wine braised short ribs.
This recipe has been my go-to for about a year now. I first made these ribs back in December of last year. And ever since then I’ve been making them for big crowds. My brothers love short ribs, so this is the perfect dinner to serve this week…especially with snow in the forecast. Nothing is better on a snowy night than a dinner of slow cooker short ribs.
Plus, they are so easy to make. Just one pot, set the slow cooker, and come home to dinner. EASY.
Like most (good) short rib recipes, this one starts out by searing the ribs in a super hot skillet. Trust me, I know how much of a turn off this is in any recipe. But searing the ribs is an essential step and will give you a tender, flavorful short rib every time. I know you might not want to dirty the pan or deal with the grease splatter, but if you want a delicious meal, take the extra ten minutes and sear the ribs before adding them to the slow cooker (or oven).
Once the ribs are seared, you pretty much just throw all remaining ingredients into the slow cooker and cook all day long. Low and slow is key with short ribs, so I recommend cooking the full six hours on low. You can slow cook these in the oven as well.
The major flavor for these shorts come from dry red wine, fresh herbs, and tangy cranberries. Now, I know the cranberries might be throwing some of you off, but I promise, the cranberries in this recipe are delicious.
One of my favorite things to do this time of year when cranberries are in season is to pair them with beef and red wine. Something about the combo of cranberries, red, wine, and beefy short ribs are just so good. It feels very fancy, very French, and when served over creamy mashed potatoes, it’s really one of the best, coziest meals there is.
I actually made this exact recipe yesterday, for Sunday night dinner with the family. It was the perfect dinner to enjoy on a cold November night. If you need something warm and hearty to serve this week before Thursday’s feast, I highly recommend these short ribs.
They cannot be beat.
If you make these ribs be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
Red Wine Cranberry Braised Short Ribs
Servings: 6 6
Calories Per Serving: 1446 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds bone in, beef short ribs
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 2 cups dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- mashed potatoes, for serving
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- 1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large oven safe skillet, sear the ribs on both sides. Remove the ribs and transfer to the slow cooker. 2. To the slow cooker, add the onions, shallots, and carrots. Add the wine, broth, tomato paste, brown sugar, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. During the last 2 hours of cooking, add the cranberries. 3. Remove the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Serve the ribs over a bed of mashed potatoes. Drizzle with the pan sauce. Enjoy!
Oven
- 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.2. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large oven safe skillet, sear the ribs on both sides. Remove the ribs to a plate. Add the onions, shallots, and carrots, cook 5-10 minutes or until the onions begin to caramelize. Add back the short ribs. Add the wine, broth, tomato paste, brown sugar, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Sprinkle over the cranberries. Season with salt and pepper, gently stir to combine. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until the short ribs are tender and falling off the bone.3. Remove the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Serve the ribs over a bed of mashed potatoes. Drizzle with the pan sauce. Enjoy!
hi! I am making 12lbs in the slow cooker for Christmas dinner! do you recommend i use two slow cookers?
Thanks so much!
Hey Kayla,
Yes, I would use two slow cookers. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I will be making this tomorrow for Christmas Eve dinner! If I have it done cooking about an hour before we serve dinner, should I keep it in a dutch oven in the ON oven? Should I let the dutch oven just sit on the stove until we are ready to serve? What do you suggest that I do with it all?
Also we are making the garlic herb and cream mashed potatoes to go along with it!!
Hey Colleen,
I would keep the the dish in the oven on low until you are ready to serve. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Going to try and co queer this recipe today! I initially was going to use a slow cooker but am bit crunched for time. Do you think if I use a large enough care iron And cover it with aluminum it would work okay? Worried it will give off more liquid and overflow / or be too cluttered and not cook properly. Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you!
Hey Dima,
That should be totally fine, I would coo for 2-3 hours in the dutch oven. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Can you use beef back ribs as a substitute to short ribs?
Hey Carol,
Sorry I have not used those in this recipe before. I hope you love the dish, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe. I was curious is this a good make ahead (night before) recipe and if so how would you reheat ? Thank you !
Hey Bri,
Honestly for this recipe, I would not recommend making ahead. It is best served the day of. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Found the fresh cranberries after Thanksgiving and made this last night! Soo good! Just added extra salt and honey and it was perfect with some mashed potatoes and red wine for dinner while watching a Christmas movie. Thank
You for making amazing recipes! Loved your cookbook and gave it to a good friend for her birthday last Friday and she loved it!
That is so amazing! I am so happy you enjoyed this and I hope you continue to! Thank you Marie! Also, so happy your friend is loving my book!! xTieghan
First time making short ribs and they were amazing! My family loved them! I used the crock pot method and it couldn’t have been easier. Will definitely make again.
Thank you Julia! xTieghan
Tried it out this week as an option for a dinner party next week-it made the cut! SO GOOD and now going to be a go to option for company or anytime we want a cozy stay home splurge. Seriously restaurant quality! I think the touch of brown sugar might be the secret ingredient here-adding just a touch of sweet to the tart and savory goodness. My cranberries nearly disappeared even though I added them later so will postpone them even further…I also added mushrooms and stirred in frozen green peas at the end for a pop of green to go with the red for a beautiful and delicious holiday meal! Thanks to Jennie Rose’s comment I stirred in a couple TBS of flour to the sautéed veggies before adding the liquids and that tightened up the juices a little. Love this recipe!!! THANK YOU Tieghan!
Hi Elaine! I am so happy this recipe turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying this recipe!! xTieghan
These look amazing I was just wondering if I’m going to use about 2.6lbs of ribs would I half the recipe? Also is there a huge difference in taste between slow cooker in oven? Could I use a cast iron skillet? I love your blog so much but I usually stick to baking but these look to good to pass up! Thank you!
Hey Kaitlyn,
Yes, I would halve the recipe. Nope, the recipe will taste the same either way, you can use a large skillet as long as you have a lid for it. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
This might be a stupid question, but I’ve never cooked with short ribs before.. how should I ask the butcher to cut them? Flanken style? Should I trim the fat or leave it for the flavour? Love all your recipes and can’t wait to try this one!
Hey Laura,
You can tell the butcher how you are using them and they will know how to cut them. I like to keep the fat for extra flavor. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hi there!!
I am so excited to try this recipe for Thanksgiving and just returned home from buying the ingredients…but unfortunately the market only had the flanked style short ribs (instead of English cut). Will that be ok in the recipe, you think? I wasn’t sure if a long cook time is right for that cut.
Thank you for sharing!
Hey Heidi,
Those should be okay! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Hi! I’m looking forward to making this for our smaller Thanksgiving this year, we’re skipping the Turkey since there’s so few of us. Will this fit in a 6 quart slow cooker?
Hey Jess,
It sure will! I hope you love the recipe, Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
This looks so amazing!! Do you think they would keep well if you make them the day before? Want to do as much meal prep as possible so I’m not scrambling with the oven on the big day.
Just got back from the Grocery Store with two large packs of Bone In Beef Short Ribs and one pack of Boneless Beef Short Ribs. I’ll sear all in Avacado oil before tossing into the Crock Pot with the wine. I hope Merlot works instead of Cab because I have a bottle of it sitting here with nothing to do. No, I’m not a Wine drinker. More of a Beer or Burbon & Water kinda guy. I’m sure it’ll be spectacular. All I have to do now is make the Mashed Spuds to go with it.
Hi, quick question! Do you remove the membrane that goes around the back of the bone? I find this chewy and a bit grissly. Just wondering.,. thanks!
Hey Kirby,
Yes, I would recommend that. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan